Ogbonnaya Onu,the Minister of Science and Technology, has called on all Nigerians to patronize made in Nigeria products that have met the required certification as this will enable them embark on research that will improve on the quality of products and also make Nigeria goods to be the best in the world.
The Minister made the call at a meeting with the Minister of State of Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar on the need to increase patronage of locally manufactured goods through the use of Executive Order E03 of May 18th , 2017 in Abuja on Monday.
Onu notes that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is one of the lead Ministries in the national economy recovery plan and growth plan 2017- 2020 to spearhead in this made in Nigeria products.
“We are committed to making sure that we put in our own contributions to ensure that we convert the enormous and the abundance raw materials in the country into products that our people will require, that we don’t have to rely on the importation of everything we need. We want our Naira to be strong and we want jobs for our people” the Minister stated.
He further stressed that “the Ministry will continue to developed appropriate technology that will help the country to convert the materials we have into appropriate product we needs. it is only when that conversion is done that it become made in Nigeria products, because that is the only way our industrialization will be irreversible if we don’t put in our own technology we can industrialize and it can be reverse”.
“With research and innovation work we will have products that are very different from the one that the original manufacturers have, that will be more conducive to our own needs”
Earlier, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar has stated that the Ministry is mandated with the responsibility of collating information from government to formulate a policy to ensure that the Nigerians maximize the use of made in Nigeria goods.
She called on all MDA’s to put in place structure to actualize this objective because according to her “the utilization of locally manufactured goods will enhance employment generation, increase wealth creation and save scarce foreign exchange.
In a related development, the president of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Otis Anyeanji has appealed to all tiers of government to invest heavily in science and technology development and particularly the Federal Government to set up a special intervention fund for space program.
Anyeanji who was represented by the Vice-president, Tasiu Wudil made the appeal in Abuja today when the executives of the society paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu to thank the Minister for accepting their invitation as the Special Guest of at the first M.O.Agu annual distinguished lecture on Thursday 27thJuly 2017 at the Nigerian Society of Engineers Headquarters.
He lauded the Ministry for the courage and the bold step in going into Space science and technology.
The president noted that “the launch of five satellites into appropriate orbits for the government of Nigeria is a significant government policy that has acted as a catalyst for unsustainable development”.
According to him, ‘These satellites are critical national infrastructure that will aid national development in every area of our lives including education, healthcare, national security, and agriculture and information communication technology.
HARRISON EDEH, ABUJA
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